Don’t Be Greedy to Yourself

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

هَا أَنتُمْ هَٰؤُلَاءِ تُدْعَوْنَ لِتُنفِقُوا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَمِنكُم مَّن يَبْخَلُ ۖ وَمَن يَبْخَلْ فَإِنَّمَا يَبْخَلُ عَن نَّفْسِهِ ۚ وَاللَّهُ الْغَنِيُّ وَأَنتُمُ الْفُقَرَاءُ ۚ وَإِن تَتَوَلَّوْا يَسْتَبْدِلْ قَوْمًا غَيْرَكُمْ ثُمَّ لَا يَكُون

Behold! You are those who are called upon to spend in the way of God; yet among you some are miserly. And whosoever is miserly is only miserly toward himself. God is the Rich, and you are the poor. And if you turn away, He will cause a people other than you to take your place, and they will not be the likes of you. [47:38]

Al-Waahidi (d. 468 A.H.), in his commentary, relays a report from Ibn Abbas as saying:

لا ينفق أحد في سبيل الله إلا أعطاه الله في الدنيا أضعافه، وفي الآخرة ما لا يقدر الواصفون يصفونه

“No one spends in the path of Allah except that Allah, in this life, will multiply for him [that which he has spent]. And in the afterlife [He will also give them] that which is indescribable.”